


Dryden and Lilith

by Thatonegothynerd



Series: Adventures of The Scarred [14]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 10:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18602263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatonegothynerd/pseuds/Thatonegothynerd
Summary: The story of how Avarice's parents, Dryden Brigand and Lilith, met.





	Dryden and Lilith

Dryden Brigand was a handsome man, as anyone would attest. He had fiery orange hair and emerald green eyes paired with a set of lashes that melted hearts. His looks got him jobs at bars all across Tal’Dorei, but his stories is what got him a second night on the stage. He knew hundreds of stories of any kind that could be imagined. Stories of heroes in battle and stories of star-crossed lovers, stories of pirates and stories of spies and thieves. If there was a story about it, Dryden knew it. He was a master of his craft, expertly keeping his audience on the edge of their seat and hanging on his every word. People loved him. They always flocked to his charm and charismatic nature and begged to hear just one story more before he moved on to a different city or town. 

In return for his stories, he often would ask to hear a story in return. He wanted to collect as many as possible, to hear them all. But after a few years of travel, Dryden realized most people’s stories were the same. There were heroes and villains and battles. There were stories of lives and travels, but they all ended up repeating themselves. He reached a point where he thought had finally heard them all. Every story left to tell had been told. Until he met her. 

One night while Dryden was telling his stories, this one about a pirate captain and a fae, to a crowd in a bar in the city of Kymal, he saw a woman’s face in the crowd. She was beautiful, more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen. She had hair like an open flame and her skin and eyes were the red hot coals beneath it. Her appearance was shocking, capable of turning heads in any city, but it was her smile that took his breath away. The way she smiled up at him as he spoke made him stumble in his tale. It was the worst storytelling he had ever given, but he didn’t care. He had to meet her, talk to this beautiful woman with horns black as night and a body straight out of a dream. He looked in the crowd for her after he was done, but she was gone, somehow having slipped away after his performance.

The next night, Dryden told a story about a girl that dressed up as a princess to go to a ball, but ran away, leaving a slipper behind. It was then that he saw her once more in the crowd, smiling at him. As he told the end of the tale, of a prince who scoured the kingdom looking for the woman he now loved without ever knowing her name, his eyes never left her. After his story, he looked away for just a moment as the bar owner called his name, and once again the mysterious woman had vanished. 

On his third night in Kymal, the woman was waiting by the stage before Dryden ever entered the bar. He approached her, and she smiled her dazzling smile at him. He was almost too nervous to speak now that she was so close. She was unreal, like something out of one of his stories, and he was afraid if he spoke she would disappear like words in the air. 

“Hello,” she said, realizing he wasn’t going to speak. Her voice was better than he could have imagined it sounding. It was soft and sultry, the kind of voice only a lover was meant to hear.. 

“Hello,” Dryden said, recovering himself. “My name is Dryden, and who might you be?”

“My name is not important right now; you have a story to tell,” she responded, gesturing to the stage. 

“I can’t,” he said.

“Why not?” she said, sounding confused and curious.

“Because if I tell my story, you’ll vanish again. I don’t want you to leave.”

“There are plenty of other beautiful women in this bar to talk to,” she said, waving to some women at the counter dismissively, her smile fading from her face. The women at the bar all waved and Dryden as he looked over, one even blowing a kiss. 

“But I’m not interested in talking to those other women. I want to talk to you,” he said, looking back at her, hoping for her smile to return.

“But, why?” She said, not seeming to comprehend his instance. 

“Because I already know their stories. I want to know yours.”

“My story is not as happy as the ones you tell. I don’t think there’s any reason to share it,” she said, turning away from him. 

“Wait. Please don’t go. I won’t ask for your story if you’re not willing to tell it. Just, please don’t leave tonight.” 

She turned back around to look him in the eyes, and found the truth in his words. Her smile returned. 

“Tell one about a princess. Those are my favorites,” she responded. 

Smiling in return, Dryden walked to the stage to tell his story, the best one he knew. This one about a princess locked in a tower, asleep, and a handsome prince that fought a dragon to save her. His eyes never left hers as he spoke, telling the story directly to her. The building could have caught fire and Dryden wouldn’t have noticed. There was nothing in that moment but the beautiful woman and the words she inspired from him. 

After his story, Dryden approached the woman again. She had stayed. 

“That was a beautiful story,” she said, still wearing her incredible smile. 

“Thank you, my lady,” he said, kissing her hand. “I wonder if one good story is enough to convince you to share your name?”

“My name is not-”

“But it is important. After all, I need to know what to name my next beautiful heroine.”

She blushed at his boldness and clearly enjoyed it. 

“Lilith. My name is Lilith.”

“Lilith,” he repeated, smile widening. “What a beautiful name.”

“Not exactly one of a heroine though,” she said, smile dimming ever so slightly.

“If I’ve learned anything though all of the stories I’ve heard, Lilith, it’s that anyone can be a hero, even those who don’t see it in themselves.”

“You are far too optimistic Dryden. You’ve clearly never met one of your villains.” 

“Not true, I’ve met many villains in my life: people with terrible plans or just no sense of right, but I have met far more heroes that would never call themselves such. Often those most hesitant to call themselves heroes are the most heroic among us,” Dryden spoke with such conviction that Lilith couldn’t help but be in awe. He meant every word he spoke with all of his heart. “You might just be one of those people, Lilith.”

“I’m really not, Dryden. If you truly believe what you’re saying, then you’re one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, which is why I have to go.” Lilith backed away as she spoke and Dryden’s face fell. 

“Does this have to do with your story?”

“I can’t. You’re too kind to burden. I’m sorry.”

Dryden reached out to hold Lilith’s hand and looked into her eyes.

“Never apologize for bringing your beauty into my life, Lilith. Your story sounds like it has a very sad beginning, let me help you give it a happier conclusion.”

“People like me don’t get happy endings Dryden. The villains can’t live happily ever after. That would make for a terrible story.”

“Then you can stop being the villain. We can be the heroes of this story Lilith.” As he spoke Dryden pulled her closer to him and Lilith didn’t resist. She felt inky black tears welling up in her eyes. 

“I’m not supposed to feel like this. I’m not supposed to care. How are you making me care?”

“It’s a new chapter in your story. Please let me start it with you.”

“I can’t stay here. I can’t put such a sweet man in danger.”

“Lilith,” Dryden said inches away from her, “I would do anything to change your story. So let me help you.”

No one had ever asked to help her before. Lilith looked at the man across from her. She had been spying on him for weeks, for what reason she didn’t know, but it was clear from her time watching him that he was a kind and brave man. The kind of man people wrote stories about. And now he was asking to change her story. Could he free her from her infernal bonds? No. Lilith knew there was no escaping those. But could he make her happy? Could he help her escape from the hell that was her life of deceit and the destruction of lives? Lilith did not know, but she was willing to let him try. 


End file.
